Reflections on Nothumberland

An early start for our journey south but before then. We had to leave the cottage by 10am so went for a morning walk around Chillingham before setting off. The village is tiny but has a fabulous view over to the Cheviot hills. We headed South, stopping off at the Angel of the North and then stopping outside Durham to visit friends for lunch.

Some reflections of the trip -Northumberland is lovely but gosh there is so much to do. Often we visit counties and leave content we have done everything we wanted to do. Northumberland is different. We left with a list of things we haven't done yet. I'd love to see it out of school holiday season because it was rather busy and we felt like a trail of ants following each other. We are very grateful to the Spanish plume that has covered the UK this week and given us wall to wall sunshine every day.

My favourite day has to be visiting the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. We were surrounded by people to start with, but visiting the Priory first, then walk up to the lighthouse and then a 3 mile walk around the island was incredibly peaceful. I just wish we didn't have the drama before the Farne Islands because they are beautiful but we couldn't enjoy it. The golden sands of Beadnell beach was my favourite of the trip. I had goosebumps visiting the grave of Emily Wilding Davison. It was meant to be that I was reading a book on suffragettes during this trip. We live miles from the sea so this trip gave us a goose top up of sea air.

Northumberland has castles, beaches, hills, quiet countryside and lots of walking....a perfect holiday.

A two minute trip to Scotland

Our last full day in Northumberland and there is just one direction we haven't been in...North. We started the morning on Wooler  Common. We found a dog loop and then lost the trail, then ended up on St Cuthberts way, then a bridleway. None of which were planned but we found some lovely views and then woodland walk again. Our next stop was Berwick Upon Tweed, an Elizabethan walled town. We found a beach on the town side of Berwick which was full of sea weed and we got beach envy looking across the estuary to a lovely golden sand beach so we left and went to Spittal instead.

We can't go on a British seaside holiday without sitting on the beach in raincoats. So that's what we did. We ate our picnic, on the beach, in raincoats. Funnily enough, we were the only people on the beach. We had a lovely walk and then back to the car for a scenic drive before the rain starts.

At this point we were only 2.5 miles from Scotland so why not visit. We stopped at the border, then turned around at the next exit to take pictures of the English border and then continued on our way. We like to give the doggies new experiences and this was their first visit to Scotland. For all of about 2 minutes. It was rather strange that the car park for the Scotland flag had loads of visitors and it was just us on the English side.

Onwards for our scenic drive in the rain. First to Coldstream, where the Coldstream Guards originated. Then onto Etal to see the castle and while in the car park a car drove through the river out to the other side of the road. Not something we would do. I planned a lovely drive to see the Cheviot Hills but alas all we saw was lots of rain. Back to the cottage early to pack for a long journey south.

Farne Islands - not big dog friendly

A lovely boat trip to the Farne Islands went a bit pear shaped. We found a dog friendly boat operator called Golden Gate and was told that water and biscuits for doggies would be available on the boat. Fabulous. Alas, to get onto the boat, Sailor and Penny had to step from the sea wall over the side of the boat and then down three steps. The boat was incredibly full so we were doing this surrounded by people sat down. I got on first and then tried to get Penny to step in, but instead her back legs fell through the gap between the sea wall and boat. We pulled her out and got her into the crowded boat but she was traumatised, we were traumatised and we had an hour and a half on a majorly crowded boat to get through.

It wasn't our day, we couldn't move, the dogs couldn't move, it was super choppy so they really needed space to lie down. Sailor went down but Penny couldn't, I felt her tail and my hand was covered in blood. I can't tell you much about the Farne Islands, I was shaking I was so stressed and having to keep penny upright meant I was looking down and then felt sea sick! We saw seals, cormorants and shags and then landed on Longstone Island. It's the only island that allows dogs to land.

However, we couldn't get them off the boat! So instead we sat in the shade to calm them down and I watched the seals playing in the crystal clear water. We could have been in the Med! The boat filled quickly, we had comments about the dogs taking up too much space and then made our way back to land and managed to get them off the boat easily. Phew. Half way back I had cramp in my leg...not the best time.

So, the dog friendly cruise to the Farne Islands is dog friendly if you can pick up your dog, but not friendly for big dogs. In addition, if it was half full, that would have been fine, but we couldn't move. It's £13 per person. I would rather pay more to have only half the number on the boat and maybe a dog only cruise which had less people and more dogs, allowing them space to move and lie down.

I was still shaking when I got off the boat from the stress and worry that it could have been so much worse and Penny could have fallen through into the water. We sat down to get over the boat journey, then had lunch of chips and gravy. I swear the whole of Seahouses smells of fish and chips. Ice cream for dessert and a special ice cream for Sailor and Penny for getting through the day.

We ended up in the vets to fix Penny's tail. This is the second holiday where we have had to find a vet. I hope it's not a holiday tradition.

Beadnell beach - having a paddle in the North Sea

We had enact plan B when we got to Dunstanburgh Castle car park, only to find that all 100 places were taken already!

Instead, our morning started on the beach at Beadnell. My sandals were off and my toes were in the freezing cold North Sea. I was soooo tempted to go for a swim. Penny and I walked in the waves while Sailor avoided the water like the plague. In fact, anytime the water cam close to him, he would leap away. Ali had a good workout running with both of them. Sailor loves running on the beach so the morning was all about him. We walked to a very quiet spot where we put down the blanket and ate our picnic. I forget how horrid it is to have the potential for sand in your sandwiches and how I have not missed that bit. We had a fabulous walk in the glorious sunshine, on lovely golden sand and crystal clear water.

Back to Dunstanburgh castle and luckily we found a car parking place. £2 for all day parking. The castle is 1.5 miles away from the car park through the quaint village of caster, then onto the cliff top and walk to the castle through fields of sheep and cows. What a fabulous walk. We also discovered that Penny has an inclination for sheep. Rabbits and cats she now ignores...but sheep, oh my gosh. We have been to an English Heritage site a day so our membership is paying off.

The castle is right on the edge of the cliff with panoramic views of the North sea and the Northumberland countryside. We walked around the walls and looked in every lookout, tower, nook and cranny. Gosh we love holidays and having the time to not have any thoughts in your head. It was just the Shackell-Smiths, the beach, the sea and the countryside. It's refreshing to actually have brain space to think but then equally, it's ok to have nothing in my brain at all.

Emily Wilding Davison's grave, Hadrian's Wall and Kielder water

I have got into a routine of bath and book every night and finished 'March women, march' last night about the history of the suffrage movement. Oh my gosh, what a great book. One chapter was dedicated to Emily Wilding Davison who died under the Kings Horse at the Derby in 1913. Around her waist was the white, purple and green 'votes for women' ribbon. It's unknown what she intended to do, but she sadly died as a result of going under the racing horse. I read the story of her funeral and the thousands in the procession, Then Emily was taken to Kings Cross to be taken to her family plot in Northumberland! What a coincidence. So our plans for today changed and Morpeth was going to be one of our scheduled stops.

We arrived at St Mary the Virgin church in Morpeth while a funeral was on. We walked to the grave and I had goosebumps when I saw the purple, white and green ribbons hanging from the fence around the grave. A plaque reads 'Deeds not words' and posters with the same quote adorned the fence. It was an incredibly humbling visit. The book goes through the difference between suffragist and suffragette. Something I hadn't known before. I just can't imagine the passion of the women fighting for the vote. Some may wonder why I get on my soapbox every time we are asked to vote, but today is why. One woman died, many were in prison multiple times, many went on hunger strike and many died from the effects of force feeding. That's why I vote and will continue to vote.

Our next stop was less political and more historical. We drove to Homesteads which is the biggest roman fort in Europe. It is really impressive. Thankfully an English Heritage sight but I resented the £4.40 car park charge when you are a member. It's quite a climb to the fort at 1:4 gradient. We walked around the ruin, seeing the communal latrines, barracks, commanders house, granary and gates. Our main reason for visiting was a great view of Hadrian's wall. I have to admit, there are very many lovely stone walls around this area so on the drive to the fort, I wasn't sure which one was Hadrian's. At the fort though, it's the huge thick wall either side of the fort that has lots of ramblers walking by the side of it.

On to our next stop and this time was a place for Sailor. Penny loves history, Sailor loves a wood. So we visited Kielder water and forest park. £4.40 again to park but a beautiful walk along lakeside view. We decided to avoid the tourists at the visitor centre and instead we drove over the dam to a less populated part of the late. On such a glorious day, the trees gave some much needed shade.

Our 1.5 hour drive home went through the Northumberland National Park which was stunning. It reminded me of Dartmoor. We passed Otterburn ranges which is an MOD site. It did make me wonder about the Estates team in MOD. The Otterburn range is huge! What do they do on the site and how do they manage it? The bit we saw had sheep and cows on it..MOD have sheep?

Visiting the Holy Island of Lindisfarne

You can't beat a sunny morning in the countryside. Sailor, Penny and I walked to a fabulous viewpoint of Northumberland National Park and even saw a couple of deer on route. Today we visited the Holy island of Lindisfarne. We like to give the doggies new experiences and today was one of them when we drove over a causeway which is underwater twice a year. We paid £4.40 to park for the day and then went to explore the island. In AD635 Saint Aidan visited from Iona and founded a monastery on the island. Famous for St Cuthbert whose body was undecayed when his remains were unearthed years after his burial. They now rest in Durham Cathedral.

We first visited the Priory because Penny is a huge fan of ruins and castles. I have a strange feeling that we bought English Heritage membership because of Penny. The priory has a great rainbow arch. Penny gets into every nook and cranny, through arches and into kilns. She loves it. We stopped for lunch in the Crown and Anchor pub where the doggies had a rest after an eventful morning, then we went on an epic journey...which wasn't meant to be quite as long as it was.

We started by walking up to the highest point on the island for a great view over the village and the priory. We thought we would do the 5km nature walk which was meant to take 1.5-3 hours. We started by walking through the harbour and towards the castle but the downside of holidaying in summer is that the island was jam packed full of tourists. It was like ants, we were all heading the same way. However, we peeled off while everyone else climbed to the top of the hill to visit the castle.

We walked the wagon way, previously used to transport lime to the castle. We walked and walked and then a dog owners nightmare...a stile! With absolutely no chance of getting the greyhounds over to the other side. After a quick visit to a hide to look at the lough, we had to take a big detour in search of a kissing gate. Luckily we found one but the otherside had a stile so instead we walked through a field of thistles to continue our trail. I then regretted walking sandals.

The field of thistles finished us off, we were in desperate need to coffee and cake and the doggies had their head down and just wanted to stop. It was a fabulous walk in glorious sunshine and the best bit was the lack of people. A quick pit stop and then we were back on the causeway as it was open again after being hidden underwater for the last 4 hours while we were an island.

Very tired doggies today but we are loving family time.